Startup Funding

Menu
Subscribe
Search

Author name: startup_admin

Are You Ready for an Advisor? 5 Questions to Ask Yourself

Other /

There are many resources for startup and growth company CEOs today.  Here are five tips to determine if you are ready for an advisor for your business. 1. Do you know enough about the company and its current state to know what problem you need help with most? In the early stage of the business there are many areas in need of attention – team, product, IP, fundraise etc.  It’s not possible for one advisor to coach all on fronts. It’s best to pick one problem and focus the advisor on that issue.  It should be the issue in which the CEO has the least skill and experience. 2. Are you genuinely interested in learning a new solution instead of finding someone who will rubber stamp your current thinking? It’s often the case, the CEO has a solution and wants to “sell” it to the rest of the team.  Some CEOs will consider bringing in an advisor to do the selling.  This is not a good use of an advisor’s time and will be seen as a ploy rather than a solution. 3. Are you willing to compensate the advisor? Good advisors will want compensation for their time and very good ones will want meaningful compensation.  Before recruiting an advisor, consider what you will give for the work in return. 4. Are you ready to share everything you know about your business? For advisor to be effective the CEO will need to share key information.  If there are areas the CEO doesn’t want to divulge, then it will be  lesser result. 5. Do you have time to debrief you advisor once you make a decision? A strong CEO-Advisor relationship will require quality time for the engagement to yield productive results.  The CEO needs to set aside time on the schedule to execute the relationship properly. Even though you may bring on an advisor, the CEO is still responsible for the business, and its outcome. TEN Capital Network Advisory Program provides a roster of qualified advisors to assist in supporting your company in your growth plan. This includes increasing revenue traction, identifying the business model, and helping prepare the company for a fund raise. This program is only available to companies enrolled in the TEN Capital Network funding program. If you want to find an advisor for your business, please contact us at info@tencapital.group.

Are You Ready for an Advisor? 5 Questions to Ask Yourself Read More »

8 Reasons Why You Want to be an Advisor

Other /

Startups and growth companies need help to find their path forward.  Experienced CEOs and entrepreneurial executives can provide mentorship and coaching to those companies.  There are many reasons to sign up as an advisor and help those startup CEOs.  There will be some financial gain to working as an advisor but don’t go into it with only a financial return in mind. Here are 8 benefits to being an advisor: 1. Get Energized Energize yourself by working with smart, fast-paced teams—there’s no greater energy in the business world than in the startup and the high growth company.  As an advisor you can energize yourself by working with startups filled with smart, faced-paced teams. 2. Keep up With Innovations in the Market Startups are not encumbered with legacy code or out dated practices so they adopt the latest innovations in the market.  If you want to find innovation, hang out with the startups. 3. Hone Your Skills Most CEOs exercise only a few skills each day in their work.  To build other skills you may find working with a startup a great way to flex new creative muscles. 4. Find New Opportunities Today’s startups are tomorrow’s growth companies.  Connecting early is the best way to find new opportunities. 5. Learn About New Markets Startups form around new markets.  There’s no better way to learn about a market then to join a startup in the industry. 6. Access a New Industry Startups often represent new and emerging industries.  To play in those new spaces often means working with startups and growth companies not big companies with well-paying jobs. 7. Expand Your Network Join a startup as an advisor as it will introduce you to new groups and communities. 8. Give Back to the Community Helping startups is a great way to give back to the community as it fosters growth in new leadership and helps build new companies for the future. TEN Capital Network is proud to announce our Advisory Program which provides a roster of qualified advisors to assist in supporting companies in their growth plan. This includes increasing revenue traction, identifying the business model, and helping prepare the company for a fund raise. Signing up as an advisor with TEN is easy and free. Visit our Advisory Program Page and you’ll be on your way to getting energized, finding new opportunities, expanding your network, learning about emerging markets, and more! If you want to find an advisor for your business, please contact us at info@tencapital.group.

8 Reasons Why You Want to be an Advisor Read More »

Top Investors in Texas Therapeutics Companies

Investing /

The top ten investors in Texas Therapeutics companies include New Enterprise Associates, Venrock, Canaan Partners, and Silicon Valley Bank and others who have collectively done 3,996 deals. The top 20 VC firms also include StartUp Health, Novartis Venture Fund, Morningside Group and their collective deals reach 5,064. The top 50 VC firms dealflow total 6,229 and include other firms such as, S3 Ventures, Texas Venture Labs, and Oxford Finance Corporation.   Investor Name Investor Type Location Description Number of Investments New Enterprise Associates Venture Capital Menlo Park, California, United States New Enterprise Associates is a California-based global venture capital firm that funds companies across all investment stages. 1,269 Venrock Venture Capital Palo Alto, California, United States Venrock is a venture capital firm investing in technology and healthcare companies. 531 Canaan Partners Venture Capital Menlo Park, California, United States Canaan Partners is a California-based early-stage venture capital firm focused on disruptive technology startups and healthcare companies. 466 Silicon Valley Bank Investment Bank Santa Clara, California, United States Silicon Valley Bank works with technology, life science, cleantech, venture capital, private equity and premium wine businesses. 430 Austin Ventures Venture Capital Austin, Texas, United States Austin Ventures is a venture capital firm investing in early stage and middle market companies. 361 ARCH Venture Partners Venture Capital Chicago, Illinois, United States ARCH invests primarily in companies co-founded with leading scientists and entrepreneurs, concentrating on bringing to market innovations 240 Sofinnova Ventures Venture Capital Menlo Park, California, United States Since 1974, Sofinnova Ventures has partnered with entrepreneurs to secure initial funding, build successful teams, win key customers, and 187 Apax Partners Private Equity Firm New York, New York, United States Private equity investment group, Apax Partners, invest in leveraged and management buy-outs, growth capital and late venture funds. 175 Correlation Ventures Venture Capital San Diego, California, United States Correlation Ventures finances early, seed, and later stage venture, and debt financing investments and is based in California. 171 StartUp Health Accelerator New York, New York, United States StartUp Health is a global organization leading the movement to transform health by building a community of Healthcare Transformers. 166 Novartis Venture Fund Corporate Venture Capital Basel, Basel-Stadt, Switzerland Novartis Venture Fund is a venture capital firm focused on companies that develop novel therapeutics and platforms. 158 Morningside Group Venture Capital Shanghai, Shanghai, China Morningside Group is a private investment group founded in 1986 by the Chan family of Hong Kong. 140 Mercury Fund Venture Capital Houston, Texas, United States Mercury Fund is an early-stage venture capital firm. With over $200 million under management, Mercury invests in the middle of the U.S. 119 GE Capital Corporate Venture Capital Ottawa, Ontario, Canada One of General Electric’s largest growth engines, GE Capital Solutions offers lending products, growth capital, revolving lines of credit, 111 Osage University Partners Venture Capital Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, United States Osage University Partners is a venture capital fund investing in start-ups that commercialize university research. 95 Square 1 Bank Venture Debt Durham, North Carolina, United States Square 1 Bank is a full-service commercial bank that provides financial services to entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. 94 CMEA Capital Venture Capital San Francisco, California, United States CMEA Capital caters seed, early, and later stage venture, private equity, and debt financing investments and is based in California. 94 Hercules Capital, Inc. Venture Debt Palo Alto, California, United States Hercules Capital, a California-based company, lends to technology, life sciences, and sustainable technology companies. 88 MB Venture Partners Venture Capital Memphis, Tennessee, United States MB Venture Partners is a Tennessee-based venture capital firm that specializes in investments in the life sciences sector. 86 Burrill & Company Venture Capital San Francisco, California, United States Burrill & Company is a venture capital and private equity firm that invests in life sciences, biotechnology, and healthcare companies. 83 Texas Venture Labs Accelerator Austin, Texas, United States Housed at the AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center, Jon Brumley Texas Venture Labs (TVL) provides direct links to the 81 Oxford Finance Corporation Private Equity Firm Alexandria, Virginia, United States Oxford Finance, headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, is a specialty financial services firm that provides capital exclusively to life scie 76 RA Capital Management Venture Capital Boston, Massachusetts, United States RA Capital Management is an investment advisor based in Boston specializing in the life-sciences and drug development sectors. 70 Pfizer Venture Investments Corporate Venture Capital New York, New York, United States Pfizer Venture Investments is a venture capital firm. 64 Deerfield Venture Capital New York, New York, United States Deerfield is an investment management firm, committed to advancing healthcare through investment, information and philanthropy. 64 Comerica Bank Investment Bank Reston, Virginia, United States Comerica Bank is a Texas-based financial services corporation that specializes in business and retail banking, and wealth management. 58 Lilly Ventures Corporate Venture Capital Indianapolis, Indiana, United States Lilly Ventures is an Indiana-based venture capital firm that provides investment to companies in the life sciences sector. 54 S3 Ventures Venture Capital Austin, Texas, United States S3 Ventures is a Texas-based, seed- and early-stage venture capital firm that invests in information technology and life sciences companies. 48 TriStar Technology Ventures Venture Capital Nashville, Tennessee, United States TriStar Technology Ventures is a Tennessee-based investment firm focused on pre-seed and seed-stage healthcare innovation companies. 48 Sante Ventures Venture Capital Austin, Texas, United States Santé Ventures is a life sciences venture capital firm that invests exclusively in early-stage companies. 41 The Column Group Venture Capital San Francisco, California, United States The Column Group is a California-based venture capital firm dedicated to developing biotechnology companies. 40 Redmile Group Hedge Fund San Francisco, California, United States Hedge Fund that does Early Stage Venture, Later Stage Venture, Private Equity, Debt Financing, and Post Ipo Equity Investments 37 Rock Springs Capital Venture Capital Baltimore, Maryland, United States Rock Springs Capital is an investment company located in Baltimore, Maryland. Its advisory activities include management services to 36 Excel Venture Management Venture Capital Boston, Massachusetts, United States Excel Venture Management builds companies that apply transformative life science technologies to solve problems

Top Investors in Texas Therapeutics Companies Read More »

VC Profile: Danny Despot of New Capital Partners

Investor Profile /

Headquarters: Birmingham, Alabama Sectors: Healthcare Services, Healthcare IT, Financial Services, FinTech, Business Services Description: Founded in 2001 New Capital Partners is a private equity firm that focuses on high growth companies in the healthcare and financial sectors located primarily in the Southeastern U.S. and Texas. While New Capital is headquartered in Birmingham they have opened a secondary office located in Dallas, Texas. Since 2001, the firm has managed to collect $372M for private equity and economic development funds. “Our portfolio companies grow in size and value by building on the foundation of one core goal – providing exceptional value and service to each company’s customers.” Recent Investments: Teladoc $50.25M / Series C OptiMine Software $7.24M / Series B Teladoc $18.6M / Series A Senior Whole Health $16M / Series B Website: www.newcapitalpartners.com Danny Despot joined NCP in 2014 after being in the private sector. Prior to New Capital Partners, Danny founded Capstone Technologies in 1996 by raising capital to build a proprietary biometric monitoring service for offenders on house arrest. Capstone became a leader in biometric monitoring in the US and sold to a Canadian public company in 1999. Danny also co-founded Summit Document Services in 1994 and grew it to 150 employees in seven locations in five states. He sold that company in 2004 and has been working in the private equity industry since 2005. He created six funds for projects up to $12 million. These projects focused on the oil/gas, service companies, real estate development and automotive sectors. Danny currently serves on the Board of Directors for Big Spring Environmental, Petroleum Investments, and Talladega Ford. At NCP, Danny is responsible for sourcing new investment opportunities in NCP’s chosen industries and markets.

VC Profile: Danny Despot of New Capital Partners Read More »

5 Questions to Ask a Potential Advisor

Other /

Business advisors can bring a wealth of experience to your startup.   It’s more important to find the right advisor than to find someone with plenty of time on their hands.   Here are five questions every entrepreneur should ask a potential advisor: 1. What business experience have you had that is similar to my situation? You want to find someone who has gone through a similar experience to the one you are dealing with now and preferably someone that’s in the same industry segment. 2. Are they potentially competing with you? You want an advisor who doesn’t have a conflict of interest with their company. Those who skirt the ethics issue are questionable members for your network to begin with. 3. What kind of success did they achieve at their company? You want someone who is successful at the trade.  Success can be defined differently based on the circumstances. In emerging markets, someone who can stand up a company and grow it could be considered a success even though it didn’t yield an outsized return for investors. 4. Will the advisor benefit from the relationship as well? One way to ensure full engagement by the advisor is to find an advisor who will benefit from working with your company rather than just a give back.   The advisor may want to keep up with the industry or is considering making a financial investment and wants to learn more about the company before pulling the trigger. 5. Can you work well together with the advisor? As in so many other startup relationships (investor, cofounder, board member) you will end of spending a great deal of time with the advisor so you want to make sure you are compatible and can work well together. TEN Capital Network is proud to announce our Advisory Program which provides a roster of qualified advisors to assist in supporting your company in its growth plan. This includes increasing revenue traction, identifying the business model, and helping prepare the company for a fund raise. This program is only available to companies enrolled in the TEN Capital funding program. If you want to find an advisor for your business, please contact us at info@tencapital.group.

5 Questions to Ask a Potential Advisor Read More »

VC Profile: Krishna Srinivasan of LiveOak Venture Partners

Investor Profile /

Headquarters: Austin, Texas Sectors: Enterprise Software, Social Media, Digital Media Description: LiveOak Venture Partners is an Austin-based, early-stage venture capital firm that partners with visionary entrepreneurs who use disruptive technologies and business models to challenge the status quo. While many of their investments begin at the seed stage, LiveOak is a full life-cycle investor focused on technology and technology-driven service companies primary based in Texas and the Southwest. For over a decade, the Founders of LiveOak have helped entrepreneurs create industry-leading companies. “LiveOak partners with visionary entrepreneurs who use disruptive technologies and business models to challenge the status quo.” Recent Investments: Ranzure Networks $13M / Series A (Lead) CS Disco $18.58M / Series C Data.world $14M / Series A NSS Labs $16M / Series C Website: liveoakvp.com Krishna Srinivasan is a co-founder of LiveOak Venture Partners and has been investing in early stage Texas based companies and entrepreneurs since 2000. Prior to founding LiveOak, Krishna was a Partner at Austin Ventures. Before joining Austin Ventures, Krishna was with Motorola where he wrote large scale optimization software for supply chain planning and worked with a variety of business units on strategic and operational issues. He started his professional career at SEMATECH. Krishna received his MBA from Wharton where he graduated with highest academic honors as a Palmer Scholar. He also has an MS in Operations Research from the University of Texas at Austin, and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, where he graduated with the highest all-round honors.

VC Profile: Krishna Srinivasan of LiveOak Venture Partners Read More »

How to Get the Most from an Advisor

Other /

Advisors provide insight into growing your business as well as burnishing the team both of which are important in the fund raising process.  To get the most out of your advisor here are some key points: 1. Set Clear and Specific Goals Most CEOs who sign up advisors initially plan to use them as a general sounding board.  For the informal advisor this works fine, but for a compensated advisor, the role should be much more focused.  The advisor should have a job description the same as any employee in the company.  The CEO should set clear and specific goals on what the advisor should do. 2. Have a Regularly Scheduled Call/Meeting Advisors generally serve at the will of the CEO or the board but can also be setup for specific term of service.  This makes it easier to transition into new and out of arrangements as the company grows. 3. Make Clear the Preparatory Work that Needs to be Done For each meeting, there should be some clarity on what preparatory work that needs to be done by the advisor.  This sets expectations on both sides on what is to be done. 4. Include the Advisor’s Name on Investor Documents A substantial portion of the value of the advisor is in raising funding.  The CEO should add the advisor’s name and position to the investor documents and make clear the value of the advisor to the team. 5. Leverage the Advisor’s Network Most advisors have an extensive network and one that should be mined for the benefit of the company.  The CEO should discuss what help is needed to see if the advisor’s network can bring additional support. TEN Capital Network is proud to announce our Advisory Program which provides a roster of qualified advisors to assist in supporting your company in its growth plan. This includes increasing revenue traction, identifying the business model, and helping prepare the company for a fund raise. This program is only available to companies enrolled in the TEN Capital funding program. If you want to find an advisor for your business, please contact us at info@tencapital.group.

How to Get the Most from an Advisor Read More »

Top 50 Investors in Texas Medical Devices

Investing /

The top ten investors in Texas medical device companies include Sequoia, Battery Ventures, Venrock, Silicon Valley Bank and others who have collectively done 4,414 deals. The top 20 VC firms also include Sofinnova Ventures, Houston Angel network, MPM Capital and their collective deals reach 6,042. The top 50 VC firms dealflow total 8,768 and include other firms such as ONSET Ventures, Three Arch Partners, and Mercury Fund. Investor Name Investor Type Location Description Total Number of Investments Sequoia Capital Venture Capital Menlo Park, California, United States Sequoia is a VC firm focused on energy, financial, enterprise, healthcare, internet, and mobile startups. 1,379 Battery Ventures Venture Capital Boston, Massachusetts, United States Battery Ventures finances technology sector companies with venture capital, private equity, and debt financing investments. 540 Venrock Venture Capital Palo Alto, California, United States Venrock is a venture capital firm investing in technology and healthcare companies. 531 Silicon Valley Bank Investment Bank Santa Clara, California, United States Silicon Valley Bank works with technology, life science, cleantech, venture capital, private equity and premium wine businesses. 430 Austin Ventures Venture Capital Austin, Texas, United States Austin Ventures is a venture capital firm investing in early stage and middle market companies. 361 Summit Partners Private Equity Firm Boston, Massachusetts, United States Summit Partners is a growth equity firm that has raised more than $16 billion in capital. 308 Dreamit Accelerator Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States Dreamit helps exceptional people build exceptional companies. 235 OrbiMed Private Equity Firm New York, New York, United States OrbiMed is a healthcare-dedicated investment firm, with approximately $5 billion in assets under management. 231 Warburg Pincus Private Equity Firm New York, New York, United States Warburg Pincus LLC is a global private equity firm focused on growth investing. 201 Alta Partners Venture Capital San Francisco, California, United States Alta Partners is a leading venture capital firm in life sciences, funding over 130 companies in the industry since 1996. 198 Sofinnova Ventures Venture Capital Menlo Park, California, United States Since 1974, Sofinnova Ventures has partnered with entrepreneurs to secure initial funding, build successful teams, win key customers, and 187 Houston Angel Network Angel Group Houston, Texas, United States Houston Angel Network provides capital to early-stage companies in Texas and the rest of the US. 183 MPM Capital Venture Capital Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States MPM Capital caters to the healthcare sector with seed, early, and later stage venture, and private equity investments. 180 SV Life Sciences Venture Capital Boston, Massachusetts, United States SV Life Sciences is a Boston-based venture capital firm focused on investments in biotechnology and healthcare industry. 178 Apax Partners Private Equity Firm New York, New York, United States Private equity investment group, Apax Partners, invest in leveraged and management buy-outs, growth capital and late venture funds. 175 StartUp Health Accelerator New York, New York, United States StartUp Health is a global organization leading the movement to transform health by building a community of Healthcare Transformers. 166 Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania Government Office Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, United States The Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania (BFTP/NEP) is part of a state-funded economic development initiative. 158 Morningside Group Venture Capital Shanghai, Shanghai, China Morningside Group is a private investment group founded in 1986 by the Chan family of Hong Kong. 140 Mitsui Global Investment Corporate Venture Capital Menlo Park, California, United States Mitsui Global Investmen is a venture capital fund that focuses on early stage companies. Mitsui’s expertise lies in helping 133 Bobby Yazdani Angel San Francisco, California, United States Bobby Yazdani works full-time on the development and support of entrepreneurs through his venture capital firm, Signatures Capital. Drawing from nearly three decades of entrepreneurial experience in Silicon Valley, he mentors, advances and empowers entrepreneurs on their journey to build great companies. In 2014, Bobby was ranked #1 out of 2000 angel investors in a report by CB Insights as having the most successful track record for investing in companies that received follow-on funding. Bobby made his first angel investment in 1989 in medical technology company Masimo (NASDAQ: MASI), where, in addition to providing capital, he wrote software to enhance the accuracy of the company’s early neonatal pulse oximeters. In 1997 Bobby founded Saba, taking the company public in 2000. Today, Saba is the leading provider of Human Capital Development & Management Solutions. Its applications are being used by over 30 million people from 2200 customers across 195 countries and in 37 language 128 ONSET Ventures Venture Capital Menlo Park, California, United States ONSET Ventures provides early-stage venture capital in the areas of IT and medical. 127 Signatures Capital Venture Capital Redwood Shores, California, United States Signatures Capital is a California-based venture capital firm that supports entrepreneurs and leadership teams in building new companies. 125 Mercury Fund Venture Capital Houston, Texas, United States Mercury Fund is an early-stage venture capital firm. With over $200 million under management, Mercury invests in the middle of the U.S. 119 Three Arch Partners Venture Capital Portola Valley, California, United States Three Arch Partners was formed in 1993 to provide young companies with access to relevant clinical and business resources, as well as 112 National Science Foundation Government Office Arlington, Virginia, United States The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950 to promote the progress of science; to 111 GE Capital Corporate Venture Capital Ottawa, Ontario, Canada One of General Electric’s largest growth engines, GE Capital Solutions offers lending products, growth capital, revolving lines of credit, 111 Morgan Stanley Investment Bank Palo Alto, California, United States Morgan Stanley is an American financial services company that offers securities, asset management, and credit services. 109 Novo A/S Venture Capital Hellerup, Hovedstaden, Denmark Novo A/S is the holding company of the Novo Group, wholly-owned by the Novo Nordisk Foundation. 107 F-Prime Capital Partners Venture Capital Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States F-Prime Capital is a global venture capital firm investing in healthcare and technology. 105 Oxford Bioscience Partners Venture Capital Boston, Massachusetts, United States Oxford Bioscience Partners (OBP), established in

Top 50 Investors in Texas Medical Devices Read More »

Setting up an Advisory Board for your Company

Fundraising, Other /

In onboarding an advisor there are several key points to consider. First, a board advisor is not the exact same thing as a board director but rather acts more like a board observer.  They are entitled to receive the same information as provided board members and like board observers, they have no voting rights.  A contract should be setup for a formal advisory board member to include the following points: 1. Duties The board advisor acts as a consultant and does not represent the company as does the CEO or the board of directors.   The contract should determine the number and type of meetings (conference calls, group sessions, etc) and the preparation required for the meetings. 2. Terms of Service Advisors generally serve at the will of the CEO or the board but can also be setup for specific term of service.  This makes it easier to transition into new and out of arrangements as the company grows. 3. Compensation The terms of compensation must be made clear as well as the handling of expenses.  For equity compensation vesting schedules should be determined. 4. Information Rights While the advisor has rights to the board notes, the advisor does not have the right to inspect the company’s books. 5. Confidentiality Confidentiality of information is a given. 6. Disclosing conflicts of interest Conflicts of interest must be considered and disclosed as confidential information about the company will be provided to the advisor. 7. Indemnification The advisor is typically indemnified by the company in the event of a lawsuit. 8. Jurisdiction The advisor agreement should make clear the state of jurisdiction in the event of a dispute. TEN Capital Network is proud to announce the launch of our Advisory Program which provides a roster of qualified advisors to assist in supporting your company in its growth plan. This includes increasing revenue traction, identifying the business model, and helping prepare the company for a fund raise. Learn more and sign up as an advisor! This program is only available to those enrolled in the TEN Capital funding program. If you want to find an advisor for your business, please contact us at info@tencapital.group.

Setting up an Advisory Board for your Company Read More »

Scroll to Top